Harvard Festival of Men's Choruses (1978)
The Virginia Glee Club performance at the 1978 Harvard Festival of Men's Choruses took place in Saint Paul Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts on April 15, 1978 under the direction of Donald Loach. The performance was part of the Glee Club 1977-1978 season. The performance consisted of the traditional song "L'Homme Armé" followed by a performance of the Missa L'Homme Armé Sexti Toni by Josquin Des Prez. The performances were recorded by Harvard University and were made available on-line by the Harvard Glee Club. A description of the Glee Club's performance at the 1978 festival was published in the Cavalier Daily on October 31, 1978: On the marble altar of St. Paul's Church in Cambridge stands a group of tuxedoed singers, like a palette against the icons of the background. Standing before them, swaying serenely to the music, is a silver-haired conductor, whose baton seems to paint the air with subtle shades of sound. Under his direction, a work of tremendous richness unfolds. The musical picture gradually nears completion as the diminutive conductor adds the brushstrokes of his baton more slowly. Then, with one last wave, the still-life is complete -- the final strains fade gently away. The moment is short-lived. Applause shatters the silence as all comes back to reality. The silhouettes regain their human forms, and the bowing conductor turns to reveal a small mustache and a red face, as all stride off stage into the downstairs warm-up room. "Party time!" whoops one singer as pandemonium quickly breaks loose. Other participants of this year's Harvard Festival of Men's Choruses flood in to congratulate the Virginia Glee Club on its performance. A somewhat disheveled gentleman breaks through the crowd and approaches Director Donald Loach. "My name is Craig Wright," he begins. "I'm a musicologist at Yale and I…" "Oh, you don't have to introduce yourself to me," interrupts Loach. "I've read your book on Renaissance music and I was ecstatic that you could come up from New Haven to give this year's special guest lecture." "Well, thank you. I just wanted to tell you that I was tremendously impressed with the sound of your group. I'm anxious to hear some of your other efforts. What record label are you on?" Record label? Loach, taken aback, wonders how he can explain to this famous scholar that his group can't afford the studio time necessary to produce a record -- that the only way the singers have been able to come to Harvard was by dipping into their own pockets to cover expenses. Loach suddenly felt like a ragamuffin in the court of the king. Program Saturday, April 15, 1978 Harvard Glee Club * Virgo prudentissima (Elzéar Genet) * Domine Jesu Christe (Antoine Fevin) * Genuit puerpera (Elzéar Genet) * Tota pulchra es (Jean Mouton) * Lamentatione (Elzéar Genet) University of Virginia Glee Club * Missa l'homme armé sexti toni (Josquin des Pres) ** Kyrie ** Gloria ** Credo ** Sanctus ** Benedictus ** Agnus Dei Sunday, April 16, 1978 University of Virginia Glee Club * Quis dabit oculis nostris (Jean Mouton) * Tu solus qui facis mirabilia (Josquin des Pres) * O Domine Jesu Christe (Josquin des Pres) * Allégez moy (Josquin des Pres) * Vous l'area, s'il vous plait (Josquin des Pres) * Cueurs desoles par toutes nations (Josquin des Pres) * Basiez moy (Josquin des Pres) Union College Glee Club * Trinklied (Franz Schubert) — M. Blair '79, baritone * Liebe, op. 17, #2 (Franz Schubert) * Ständchen (Franz Schubert) — Betty Allen, contralto * Der Entfernten (Franz Schubert) * Die Nacht, op. 17, #4 (Franz Schubert) * Sehnsucht (Franz Schubert) Gallery 1978-concert-harvard-1.jpg | Cover 1978-concert-harvard-2.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-3.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-4.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-5.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-6.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-7.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-8.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-9.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-10.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-11.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-12.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-13.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-14.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-15.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-16.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-17.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-18.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-19.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-20.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-21.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-22.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-23.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-24.jpg 1978-concert-harvard-25.jpg References Category:Glee Club concerts Category:Glee Club of the 1970s Category:1978 Category:Concerts with program listings